C12 Ghost lantern

It seemed like it was going to rain that night. The wind kept blowing and it didn't seem like it was going to stop at all.

The eighteen bell heads hanging from the lanterns seemed to be not tired at all as they 'laughed' one after another.

It wasn't until around one in the morning that someone knocked on the medicine store's door.

Three consecutive sounds of "bang bang bang" could be heard. It was very light, but it could still be heard clearly.

"Who?" I asked, walking over.

"Is the Master Shen here?" someone asked me.

I didn't say anything. I looked back and saw the old man nod, so I opened the door.

There were three people standing outside the door, all of them middle-aged men in their forties or fifties.

Judging from their attire, they were indeed not like the natives of the old streets. Each of them wore a suit and leather shoes similar to those of successful people, and each of them even had a gold watch on their wrist.

I said, "Please," and stepped to the side to make way for them.

The three of them did not hesitate and walked into the house.

When they saw the old man sitting on the teacher's chair, their eyes lit up in unison, just like the martial artists in the costumes. They clasped their hands and greeted him.

"Where are you from?" The old man asked.

"Taiyuan." The three of them answered at the same time.

"Which door?" The old man asked again.

Hearing this, a middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader replied in a low voice, "You have to rely on animals to eat. You can't show your face."

"Learning from Old Grandpa Chen?" the old man asked.

The three gentlemen nodded and said, Yes.

"Old man, you're not bad. You've never broken the rules in your life. You didn't come to Sichuan this time to ruin his reputation, did you?" The old man picked up the enamel pot and sipped his tea.

When they heard the old tutor's words, the three of them started to panic as they hurriedly shook their heads. They didn't dare to say they didn't dare, and had only come to join in on the fun.

"As long as you're here to join in on the fun." The old man nodded and waved at me, "unicorn, bring three chairs over."

"I'm fine!" Master Shen! We'll just stand there! " One of the men wearing a gold necklace spoke up.

"Standing?" The old man smiled, "When the crowd gets bigger, there won't even be a place for you to sit …"

"Let's just stand there." That gentleman smiled awkwardly and said, "There will be more people in a while. They will be standing while we sit. Isn't this just looking for trouble?"

The old man nodded and continued, "Alright, if you want to stand, then stand."

Not two minutes later, someone knocked on the door again.

This time I didn't ask any more questions, but went straight to the door and opened it.

There were four women standing outside. They were around thirty years old and were quite pretty. They had the charm of a young married woman.

"Looking for Master Shen?" I asked.

"Little brother, you are Master Shen's disciple?" the woman at the front asked curiously.

"I am the grandson of the Master Shen." I replied.

"So you are the young master of the Shen family!" The lady smiled: "If it's convenient, can you allow us to go in and pay our respects to Master Shen?"

I nodded hurriedly and said, "It's convenient."

When I brought them into the room, the expressions of the three gentlemen changed.

"The Master Shen is so lucky! We, the four sisters, greet you! "

The corners of the old man's mouth twitched when he heard this. When he saw that I almost laughed out loud, he glared fiercely at me as if to say, If you dare laugh out loud, I'll definitely kill you!

"I'm not an old eunuch, tell me Lucky isn't suitable." The old man sighed.

"We four sisters are all mountain girls. We can't read a single word, so we don't understand etiquette. Please forgive us, old master." The other women explained with a mischievous smile.

"You are Old Lady Zhou's disciples?" the old man asked.

The leading lady also stopped smiling, and bowed to the old man in a serious manner: "That's right, Master Shen, our Master said that if we meet you in Sichuan, we must help her thank you."

"There's no need to thank me. It's just a small matter." The old tutor waved his hand, "You can all rest first. I'll tell you guys something else when everyone's gathered."

Perhaps it was time to start hitting the four women on the door. Every few minutes, someone would knock on the door of the medicine store.

After a rough count, there were at least twenty or so gentlemen who came one after another. They were all men and had no women.

From the sound of their accents, there were people from all over the place, but the majority of them were still mister from both regions.

Around two in the evening, the old man signaled for me to close the door. He said that it was about time everyone was here, so he could go and take off the lantern.

By the time I got my lantern off and returned to the house, the hall was full.

Originally, the area here isn't that big. With twenty to thirty people standing here, it's basically crowded. If I want to return to the old man's position, I would have to shout "Excuse me" all the way to get in.

"Brother Shen, what exactly did you gather all these big guys for?"

The person who asked this question, I've heard the old tutor introduce him before. He should be the oldest person present, and also the most qualified mister.

His surname was Wang and his name was Wang Shenghai. He was around 60 years old and was from Guangxi.

"I've invited everyone here because I'm sure there's something I want to talk to everyone about."

As he spoke, the old man lit a cigarette and began to smoke. He seemed to be a bit sleepy, his eyes narrowing slightly as he scanned the crowd.

"But before that, I have to thank everyone for their appreciation …"

"Brother Shen, you are too kind." Wang Shenghai laughed: "The 18 bells are hanging outside the door, who would dare not come in?"

"That's for everyone's appreciation." The old man smiled.

"Heh, this is not a matter of showing respect to someone, it's a matter of rules." Wang Shenghai sighed: "It doesn't matter if you wash your hands or not, in our falling division's sect, your Brother Shen will always be that old rascal."

The old man coughed and said, "Bullsh * t …" Just like talking about bandits … "

"If you have something to say, just say it." Wang Shenghai laughed: "You called us over so late at night, this shouldn't be a small matter, right?"

"Pretty big." The old man said helplessly.

With that, the old man fell silent for two seconds and then said, "The reason you all came to Sichuan is because of Ma Laoban's Third Cultivator's Southern Territory and the legal gate."

When they heard that the old man had pointed this out, everyone looked at each other in dismay without saying a word.

"Are you interested in that?" Someone asked.

"I'm not interested. To be honest, I really don't like the kind of stuff like Ma San." The old man smiled and said, "Besides, I'm already this old. Why would I need to learn such unorthodox methods?"

"Then you mean …"

"Our falling division is different from you. There are some things that the higher ups think about more than us." As the old man spoke, he raised his hand and pointed to the ceiling. His meaning was obvious, "There are people who are worried about the gathering here."

"Are you trying to kick us out?" Wang Shenghai scratched his head, he was not angry at all, but he seemed to be helpless: "I don't understand, it's just a book, it's fine if we old things have nothing better to do, but what are the students coming over for?"

"Brother Wang, your words are a bit unreasonable." The old man laughed.

"I will ask one more time, Brother Shen, Ma Laowu's book …" Wang Shenghai looked at the old man as if he wanted to say something, but he did not say the rest.

The old man nodded and said, "It's with me."

"I heard that there are 72 methods in that book …" Wang Shenghai clicked his tongue and said: "Brother Shen, why don't you be a bit more generous, take out the seventy-two techniques, and divide them up among the big guys. It isn't kind of you to let us come here for nothing!"

"No." The old man did not hesitate. While smoking, he bluntly declared, "That book is too evil, I can't be at ease if I gave it to you guys. Besides, you guys should also be clear on how many falling division have died in it since this book appeared."

Wang Shenghai frowned, and did not say a word.

"Frankly speaking, the things in this book are all bad rules. Keeping them is a disaster."

Sighing, the old man reached into a drawer and took out the book that Ma Ol'Ol'third had given him.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that at the moment they saw this book, many people's eyes lit up.

"Calamity?" Wang Shenghai stroked his beard, his smile seemed to hold some ill intentions, and he asked the old man: "Brother Shen, how about you take care of the books? In any case, it would be a disaster to keep it, so it might as well just end its roots! "

The old man glanced at him and nodded.

After that, with a crack, the old tutor lit a match. Without hesitation, he placed the flame under the book.

"Didn't I say it before? I really look down on such things …"